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thehefnerHenry Fonda from Once Upon a Time in the West icon, which has absolutely nothing to do with this post about Tolkien.
I think my favorite section at my library, aside from the plays section of course, is the folk literature. All these old books, many over 100 years old, filled with all these beautiful illustrations along side these tales from the North, Ireland, the Orient, Africa... there's something so beautiful and bittersweet about that section.
But also in that section, perhaps misplaced, is a slim book entitled J.R.R. TOLKIEN: THE FATHER CHRISTMAS LETTERS, edited by Baillie Tolkien. Does anyone else know about this book? I imagine, or at least hope, that the Tolkien enthusiasts here have, so if I'm mistaken, please clear me up when I say that, from what I can tell, every year the Tolkien children would send letters to Santa Claus, and every year, "Father Christmas" would reply, his handwriting elegant but shaky (presumably with old age), and included with the letters would be full illustrations of himself, the North Pole, and his friend the Polar Bear. As the years went by and the letters began to be sent to the younger children, Father Christmas' adventures would come to include his eleves, including a secretary named Ilbereth, Red Gnobes, and evil Goblins.
I told this to my mother, who was similarly heartwarmed by this book. It got her wondering what kind of father Tolkien was to his children. Men of his generation, she said, weren't exactly the huggy cuddly touchy-feely types, and they'd make up for it doing this like writing stories for the children. It just got us wondering, because there is a such a breadth of story behind these elegant, beautiful letters.
One touch I especially loved: one year Father Christmas was unable to send a letter, and had Ilbereth write it instead. At the end, he writes, in Middle-Earth elvish: "A very merry Christmas to you all." Which means that not all the eleves left; some went to the North Pole! Oh, the mind boggles! I'm never going to look at Santa Claus the same way again.
I think my favorite section at my library, aside from the plays section of course, is the folk literature. All these old books, many over 100 years old, filled with all these beautiful illustrations along side these tales from the North, Ireland, the Orient, Africa... there's something so beautiful and bittersweet about that section.
But also in that section, perhaps misplaced, is a slim book entitled J.R.R. TOLKIEN: THE FATHER CHRISTMAS LETTERS, edited by Baillie Tolkien. Does anyone else know about this book? I imagine, or at least hope, that the Tolkien enthusiasts here have, so if I'm mistaken, please clear me up when I say that, from what I can tell, every year the Tolkien children would send letters to Santa Claus, and every year, "Father Christmas" would reply, his handwriting elegant but shaky (presumably with old age), and included with the letters would be full illustrations of himself, the North Pole, and his friend the Polar Bear. As the years went by and the letters began to be sent to the younger children, Father Christmas' adventures would come to include his eleves, including a secretary named Ilbereth, Red Gnobes, and evil Goblins.
I told this to my mother, who was similarly heartwarmed by this book. It got her wondering what kind of father Tolkien was to his children. Men of his generation, she said, weren't exactly the huggy cuddly touchy-feely types, and they'd make up for it doing this like writing stories for the children. It just got us wondering, because there is a such a breadth of story behind these elegant, beautiful letters.
One touch I especially loved: one year Father Christmas was unable to send a letter, and had Ilbereth write it instead. At the end, he writes, in Middle-Earth elvish: "A very merry Christmas to you all." Which means that not all the eleves left; some went to the North Pole! Oh, the mind boggles! I'm never going to look at Santa Claus the same way again.
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Date: 2004-11-17 12:13 pm (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2004-11-17 01:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-11-17 01:13 pm (UTC)